The only thing that stops the dust is the rain. It’s a sweet reprieve, but there is no middle ground. The land is either as dry as the Betty Ford clinic, or as wet as the ocean floor. Everything can be seen from the ridge overlooking Armadillo as John Marston gently bounces along atop...

A
+ Best Zelda game yet
+ …and the best story, too
+ Terrific, fitting art style
+ Great balance between sky and surface exploration
+ Motion controls work great for everything
- …once you get used to the constant calibration
+ Far deeper, tougher combat than any other Zelda
+ Great boss fights with just the right level of challenge

And here they are the top ten video games of the current gen as voted by GR!

#10
Super Mario Galaxy

This mind bender of a platformer breathed new life into the Wii and reminded us why Mario is indeed the king of video games. The plot is as simple as it gets, Bowser has kidnapped the princess, but what Galaxy did was create an experience like none other. Where Super Mario Sunshine feels a little like Mario 64 with a jetpack, Super Mario Galaxy feels like a completely fresh and unique experience. Mario games just have a way of entertaining new gamers and surprising old fans. And even if the Wii U doesn’t perform as well as the upcoming PS4 and Xbox One, we’ll know there will still be a special place in our hearts for the Italian plumber who is doomed to forever be friend-zoned.

Much like its predecessor Demon’s Souls, this is a game that is sure to frustrate you. But it’s also one of the most rewarding experiences to come out of this gen. This action RPG is a terrifying experience full of deep, immersive and challenging gameplay. It’s a game that is sure to always keep people on their toes and is recommended to anyone looking for a good challenge.

Persona 4 takes you on an epic journey through the lives of Japanese high-schoolers trying to figure out the mystery behind a series of grisly murders. That sounds like a great crime thriller, but I forgot to mention that there is a TV world you gain access to by stepping inside a television, a talking Teddy-Bear-like-thing who doesn’t even know what it is and hidden Persona-like beings that need to be unleashed within the teenagers you meet along the way. Sounds more like an existential crisis, but it’s not, it’s just Japan, and only Atlus can make a game like this so awesome. Like Catherine, Atlus dives into the surreal and downright weird while managing to tell a captivating story, albeit a little goofy. Everything is based around strategy in this game; from how you handle dungeons to deciding if you should study or take that cute girl out on a date (who is probably like 16 you perv). It’s a terrific mix of story-telling, strategy and RPG rolled up into a big tasty sushi!

GR’s Report Card
danielrbiscoff

4.5/5
+ Characters
+ Drama
+ Themes drummed in through gameplay mechanics
+ Dungeon-crawling
- Getting one-hit
- Asking everyone in town and finding out the guy was just outside your classroom
+ New character and events
+ Network features
+ On-the-go JRPG excellence
/ Admittedly not for everyone

#7
Mass Effect

One of the most incredible experiences of this past gen has got to be Mass Effect. To say that the story and the characters are well done would be an understatement. Mass Effect does a great job of establishing each party member's background and personality. Each NPC gives you a sense of what type of specialty and mood they bring to the team...but the thing is, none of them feel cliché'. The gameplay is just as amazing as you can explore the vast galaxy of Mass Effect with tons of customization and multiple paths for the story to branch from. All in all, Mass Effect's legacy is definitely well deserved and to anyone who has yet to start the series, I would recommend doing yourself a favour and start here

Who would have guessed a point and click downloadable game would become one of the most talked about video games of the past year? This TellTale game really knows how to tell a tale, (yes I know). Based off of the incredibly popular comic, The Walking Dead is a story like none other. It puts you into the role of Lee Everett, a convicted criminal on his way to death row when suddenly the apocalypse hits. From there Lee meets a young girl named Clementine and is thrown into being a parent figure. Now when people think zombie apocalypse, you would imagine lots of run and gun fun like a Resident Evil or Left 4 Dead game. But here, the majority of gameplay is based on how you interact with others and how that affects the overall story. Dialouge and choice make up most of this game, and it couldn’t have worked without an excellent script to keep the pace going. There are times where the choices you make are so difficult I actually had to question my own personal morals and values. The Walking Dead doesn’t have state of the arts graphics, it doesn’t have free-roaming multiplayer, it’s just a well-crafted story that is able to deliver one of the most intense and shocking experiences yet to be seen in a zombie game. And for a game that doesn’t focus much on zombies, that’s saying a lot.

GR’s Report Card
Eddy_DS_Fettig

4/5
+ Overall audio/visual design captures tone of the IP
+ Focus on choice and narrative
+ Blend of gameplay elements is sensible and effective
- Presentation has a few technical hiccups
- Sometimes feels less interactive that it could be

#5
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Sky is the limit with this masterpiece. The Elder Scrolls continues to impress fans with its latest addition Skyrim, a game that is so gigantic and immersive you’re bound to be glued to your couch for days. The main storyline, like the other games in the series, is only the tip of the iceberg. It will continually bring you to new and exciting parts of the world if you choose to follow it and even then the temptation to stray from the path is too great to resist. The combat is rewarding no matter what type of character you choose to create. If you put the time and effort into any type of combat it will do your hard work justice. From destroying your enemies with lightning bolts, to summoning something to devour everything in sight, to a good ole hammer to the face, the combat allows you to feel empowered. There is no wrong way to build your character in this game and the combat reflects that well. You could play this game for hundreds of hours and never get bored, using the arsenal of tools at your disposal. It’s a game no gamer should miss out on.

GR’s Report Card
Jessica_Vazquez

4.5/5
+ More than 10 hours of extra content
+ Vibrant new world to explore
+ Riding dragons!
+ New enemies to kill
- A bit difficult to initiate DLC main questline

#4
Grand Theft Auto V

GTA is undeniably the pinnacle of gaming. Ever since it wowed fans and critics with GTA III back on the PS2, the series has become better and better with every installment. And now with some sharp, witty, even intense writing, flawless gameplay and hours upon hours of just goofing off, GTA V is an incredible journey that sucks you into a living breathing world. The video game attacks everyone, the far right, the far left, even gamers get the satirical treatment. It’s a game that is hundreds of hours of fun and will continue to entertain fans for years, and that’s not even getting into the multiplayer. I don’t know how you are able to do it again and again Rockstar, but don’t stop. GTA V is well worth it and well worth such a high ranking on the list.

GR’s Report Card
danielrbischoff

5/5
+ Incredible and vast open world
+ Parachute to mountain-bike biathlons
+ First and last Heist missions
- Very blue dialogue, not for polite company
+ Huge range of radio stations, and scored soundtrack
+ Ambient missions in a living Los Santos
S+ trangers and Freaks, (almost) all of them
- Boring missions still pop up
/ Trevor
/ Michael
+ Frankiln
+ And Chop too!
- Really long report cards

#3
The Last of Us

Brutal, terrifying, and jaw-dropping. The Last of Us accomplishes what few games have been able to achieve this gen, it is truly a masterpiece. After the incredible Uncharted series, Naughty Dog proves they can deliver once again in a story that is completely fresh and original. In this dystopian future about an apocalypse that turns humans into zombie/fungi hybrids known as Clickers, we take on the role of an aging Joel and his companion Ellie, a young girl who was born into this world. Much like The Walking Dead, you’re thrown in being a father-like figure in a game that makes horror games scary again. But the intensity here comes out of the perfect gameplay. With dynamic combat based on your own preference and revolutionary AI, The Last of Us is one of the most intense and compelling video games to come out in a long time. Long live survival horror.

GR’s Report Card
danielrbischoff

5/5
+ Blood everywhere
+ Extreme violence and tension
- Not a "relaxing" game
+ Joel and Ellie
+ Inventory adds to stress, but doesn't become a source of it
+ Redefining survival horror gameplay
+ Entertaining multiplayer
/ Completely passable, though
+ HIghly cinematic and engrossing
+ Did I talk about the blood?

#2
Bioshock

Without a doubt, Bioshock blew everyone away in 2008 and many hailed it to be one of the best video games of all time. I played this game earlier this year and even with all the hype going in I was still amazed at how brilliant this game was. The game begins with a man on his way home flying over the Atlantic Ocean in 1960. After a crash landing he finds himself in Rapture, an underwater city that would give Stephen King the creeps. The story is a giant mystery that immerses you right from the get go and never lets up. As it slowly unfolds you learn more and more about what exactly happened to Rapture and the surprises keep on coming. The gameplay set the bar high for other First Person Shooters as it introduced RPG elements and a barrage of different weapons and metamorphosis skills called Plasmids. It is so satisfying to send your enemies flying using telekinesis or any of the other Plasmids you customize and level up with (which at the time was pretty revolutionary for a FPS). Bioshock is a game about humanity, a game that thinks outside the box, and one that will be adored for years and years to come.

John Marston is quite possibly one of the most iconic video game characters, if not ever then definitely for this gen. It figures that a company who made stealing cars cool makes one of the best video games ever where cars are non-existent. The very first thing that RDR dominates would be the whole successful atmosphere of the Wild West. The gun combat is some of the most fun you can have shooting at lousy varmints. The player can take cover, target a specific person, Blind-fire, and free aim. Individual body parts can also be targeted, in order to take targets down non-lethally, who can then be lassoed and "hogtied" to capture individuals alive. When the player shoots an enemy, the game engine uniquely creates the AI reactions and movements, and if that’s not enough, there is the “Dead-Eye” targeting system that slows things down to bullet time. As soon as this story begins it's made clear that John is taken away from his wife Abigail and his son Jack by government agents. These agents tell Marston that his family will be safely returned to him if he helps hunt down his former and remaining lead members of his old gang. With no choice, John travels to multiple locations to capture or kill these old friends that once betrayed him by leaving him for dead, and it’s because of our protagonist that makes this game just so damn awesome. Marston is a good man, perhaps flawed but you feel like he has a soul unlike some of the lunatics you play as in the GTA series (Trevor I’m looking at you). He’s a caring husband and father, but he’s also a bad ass, and a cold one when he wants to be. Red Dead Redemption is by far the best game to come out in a long time and earns the top spot at #1 from GR.

GR’s Report Card
Blake_Morse

A
+ The morality of cowboys
+ So much to do
+ A main character with depth
+ MMO thrown in for good measure
+ GTA without the 'A'
- Glitchy
- Wonky shooting controls while riding horse

Last edited by WickedLiquid on Wed Nov 13, 2013 8:42 am; edited 2 times in total

To be honest I think that's a pretty solid top 10. I would've liked to see Uncarted 2 and New Vegas in there instead of Dark Souls and Persona 4 but what can ya do, it's a community poll and the people have spoken.

Ugh, we all nominated games for this thing. I don't know what you were doing, but it happened.

While I'm happy Skyward Sword is at least in the top 25, I'm sad to see it isn't ranked higher than Twilight Princess. And I think the reason for that is most people gave up on the Wii when Skyward Sword was released and never played it. It really is the best Zelda game ever made. At least Super Mario Galaxy cracked the top 10 but again 2 is better and I doubt many people at GR played it.

And I know I'm going to get a lot of hate but I don't see what the big deal is with The Walking Dead. The ending is a giant kick in the balls and for a game that is tailored to how you play there are no multiple endings. I am happy with the top 3 though and in no order I would say those are the best 3 games of the gen._________________Life is not a predetermined path but a branch of many choices that make us who we are.